Stanford Peng, MD, PhD

Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA (At time of LRI grant, Dr. Peng was at Washington University in St. Louis)

2002 Cell Signaling

Dr. Peng was awarded an LRI grant to identify transcription factors that regulate the development of lupus-like autoimmunity in mice.

He used a sophisticated molecular technique called “DNA microarray” to compare the messenger RNA of transcription factors of immune system cells from mice with lupus with immune system cells from control mice.

Over the course of his grant, he ultimately identified a role for four new transcription-factor controlled pathways in the development of systemic autoimmunity. With numerous publications in high-profile journals, his discoveries have had a major impact on the field.

Dr. Peng turned established thinking around by showing that autoimmune diseases such as lupus may result from a malfunction in a particular gene (Foxj1) that under normal circumstances helps to restrain the immune system from attack.

In 2005, Dr. Peng and his colleagues reported identifying a related gene, Foxo3a, that defuses inflammatory arthritis, a painful complication in many people with lupus.

“Modifying the activity of Foxo3a may be a useful approach to treating people with inflammatory conditions caused by immune dysfunction, such as lupus,” said Dr. Peng.

Dr. Peng’s LRI work had an enormous impact on the field, generating 4 landmark papers with multiple citations in the peer-reviewed literature—over 400 in all.

In 2010, nearly a decade after receiving his LRI grant, Dr. Peng reported that he is still involved in lupus research—primarily via clinical trials.